Sia LaBelle: Texas-Celtic Music Benefits Bombing Survivors By David Schultz For The Transcript Houston singer-songwriter Sia LaBelle has had a long rich journey across musical genres. She played American folk music in small venues throughout Europe, and headed the popular all-girl Country Lace in Hawaii. In the early 80s, she toured with a 50s Rock Revival Show that included her father, Nick Masters, lead guitarist for Bill Haley's Comets for over 20 years. As an adult, LaBelle discovered her Scottish heritage and has since delved into its history and culture. Weaving her Celtic ancestry with Texas two-step has made her the leading contender to the title of the "Scottish Patsy Cline." Her recent debut album Sia LaBelle (Loose Goose Productions) provides an excellent illustration of why that nickname is appropriate. Including twelve original songs and three traditional Scottish songs, Sia LaBelle also features guest musicians from the Celtic bands Six Mile Bridge and Harper's Din. Appropriately, many of the songs on Sia LaBelle have a Celtic theme. The playful "More to the Scottish" bears the refrain "I love to see a man in a kilt." Three songs are from the Robert Burns collection: "Sweetest May" and "Rightfu' King", both love ballads, and "Parcel of Rogues", about the 31 Scottish Commisioners who signed the Act of Union in 1707, which brought Scotland into the United Kingdom. LaBelle's father appears on two of the tracks, both recorded in 1986. These recordings were never meant to be released, but with the recent death of her father, including these old memories meant a great deal to LaBelle and her family. One of these songs, "Dreamin' Comes Easy (The Nickel Song)", was written while in the car with her children, who challenged their mother to write a song about an errant nickel found in the backseat of the car. The tune for "The Flowers of the Heartland" comes from "Flowers of the Forest", a lament written for the Scottish dead after their defeat at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Jane Elliott is said to have written the song as she looked out over the battlefield at the dying and dead. The song is played by bagpipes at funerals, and Flowers of the Forest is a term used when the names of the dead are read aloud. LaBelle wrote the lyrics for her adaption when she visited the Murrah Building site. "I felt the overwhelming grief that Jane Elliott had expressed and I added the new verses in honor of the children and others who lost their lives in the senseless violence," LaBelle explains. "When violence kills and destroys lives, it is always tragic, but when it involves children, the tragedy can be unbearable." Proceeds from this song go to the Oklahoma City Murrah Building Survivors Association, a nonprofit organization that helps survivors and families affected by violence. LaBelle had the opportunity to perform this songs at Border's Bookstore in Norman last month. ---------------------------------------- Sia LaBelle's self-titled debut CD is available from her web site (http://www.loosegoose.com/sia/) or by calling Loose Goose Productions at (713) 864-2121.
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